Book Review: A Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

The summer before college, Hannah swears she’s finally going to find The One. And for five perfect minutes, Hannah does find him. He’s cute and makes her laugh like crazy. She just wishes she’d caught his name, because Toilet Boy Cinderella really lacks sex appeal.

For Sam, the summer is off to a bad start for a million reasons. But for five minutes his luck changes: in a fancy restroom painted purple like it belongs in a Bond villain hideaway, Sam falls head over heels for some strange and hilarious girl. Of course, he doesn’t know her name. With his luck, he’ll never see her again, and he’ll remain a girlfriendless, moony-eyed virgin. Forever.

But another chance meeting brings them together, only to have a chance misunderstanding drive them apart . . . and then the cycle starts all over again. Madcap mishaps, raunchy hilarity, and deep romance follow these two wherever they go. For two people so clearly destined for each other, they sure have a hell of a lot of trouble even getting together.

When I first looked at this cover, I definitely felt awkward. I don't know why, but the fingers are just creepy and I just didn't want to look at it for too long. Definitely fitting for the title of this novel! When I read the synopsis, I thought I'd give this one a shot and see if the author could really create an awkward love story that I could fall in love with.

Hannah is tired of searching for her lobster and just wants to find the one already. The last place she expects to find him is in the bathroom at her best friend's party. Too bad meeting him turned out to be the easiest part. Ever since Sam met Hannah in the bathroom, he can't get the cool, cute girl out of his head. Sam and Hannah think they'll never find each other again after having to part ways, but fate brings them together again. This time, though, some miscommunication and awkward feelings attempt to drive them apart before the best relationship of their lives has even had the chance to start.

Okay, to start off, this book is sort of vulgar. And when I mean vulgar, I mean open about sex and language and other subjects of that sort. I don't know if it's because it's by British authors and was originally published in England, but this book starts out with Hannah determined to lose her virginity so that she can just get it over with. I loved Hannah from the start and could definitely relate to her awkwardness and lack of luck when it came to love. Her feelings towards relationships were spot on and she acted so authentically when it came to talking to guys. Her evasiveness when talking with Sam, a boy she instantly clicked with and for the first time genuinely liked, is something that I could relate to. I loved how spot on the authors were able to be when portraying how awkward relationships could really be.

From the moment we met her, I Hannah's best friends Stella, but I definitely understood that that was exactly what the authors had intended. Stella was such a slimy person and always did things so that she ended up on top and felt above all of those around her. While she was supposedly Hannah's best friend, it was understandable how easy it was for Hannah to just let Stella walk all over her and accept that she wasn't going to be the pretty one or the one guys chose first. I loved how Hannah started to branch out, meet new people, take some risks, and not let Stella run her life as the story went on. While it took some time, Hannah started to figure things out.

Overall, this was definitely a fun book and I found myself flying through the story. There were definitely many cringe-worthy moments, but that just made the characters even more lovable and relatable. This book was just so real and I loved how the ugly part of teenage relationships was shown and how not everyone knew exactly what they were doing. What a breath of fresh air! If you're in the mood for a quirky, cute, and definitely awkward read, you should pick up A Totally Awkward Love Story.